


small, simple things

by froochies (darling_dontworry)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Coming of Age, Friendship, Gen, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, Swing Set, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:02:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28199577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darling_dontworry/pseuds/froochies
Summary: A third year in high school, Yamaguchi feels nostalgic for things from the past and unsure about the future. His friends help him remember how to appreciate the present.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	small, simple things

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for [Shooting Star: A Yamaguchi Tadashi Zine](https://shootingstarzine.tumblr.com/) 💫

As the breezy fall dispels to soft, white winter, Yamaguchi starts to yearn for the simplicity of things from years ago. 

As a current third year and now-captain of the Karasuno High School Volleyball Club, Yamaguchi often thinks about those nights during first year when Hinata would beg him to stay after club to help him practice receiving his jump float serve, afternoons off when he and Tsukishima would walk home after stopping for popsicles at the Sakanoshita shop, lunch periods doing homework with Yachi in a noisy classroom. 

So when he wakes up one morning during his last winter break in high school, all Yamaguchi can think is that he doesn’t want to spend the day studying for college entrance exams or worrying about the fact that the team leaves for Tokyo in a few days for another chance at Nationals. Instead, he snakes a hand out of his comforter and grabs his phone. 

_to: the og rumpshakers_ ****

**oh captain my captain** : don’t wanna study rn. anyone want coffee? 

**tangerine** : [typing…]

 **boss betch** : [typing…] 

Yamaguchi smiles to himself and throws off his heavy covers, the morning chill nipping at his skin. 

*

Music and murmurs fill the coffee shop where Yamaguchi, Hinata, and Yachi sit in the corner, looking out at the snow blanketing the hedges and sidewalks. 

“This place is so nice, but I feel like everyone can hear us,” Yachi says, hands clutching a huge white mug filled with hot chocolate. Her eyes sweep back and forth nervously as Yamaguchi gives an embarrassed smile. 

“Sorry,” he says. “I was getting tired of Coffee Cat so I just found this place on Yelp.” 

“Oh, don’t apologize!” Yachi wipes a bit of whipped cream from her lips. “It’s nice to try new places. Are Tsukishima and Kageyama coming? I didn’t check the chat before I left.”

“Well, they definitely _saw_ the messages. But I didn’t expect them to –” 

“I texted Kageyama after to remind him but he said he was running,” Hinata says, taking a huge gulp from his mug of steaming black coffee. 

“Sounds about right.” 

There’s a collective sigh between the three of them, the strum of guitar music permeating a prolonged silence. Yamaguchi isn’t as uncomfortable with periods of quiet, but there’s something about sitting in a new place that makes him shift uncomfortably in his plastic chair. 

“Uh, so, what are you doing today Yachi-san?” he asks. 

“Oh! I was thinking of going to the mall. I wanna get some stuff for our trip. Can you guys believe that we’re going back to Nationals?” 

“Right?” Hinata says. “It’s awesome!” 

“Yeah,” Yamaguchi says, trying to match their enthusiasm. “I know the others are pretty excited too.” 

“Of course they are!” Hinata gets incrementally louder as he talks, garnering some stares from other cafe patrons. “We get to play more games, get to see Tokyo Tower, maybe we’ll play Nekoma again—” 

“ _And_ ,” Yachi interjects, “isn’t it nice for us to go one more time as third years?” 

She looks over at Hinata with a strained smile, as if trying to tell him to pipe down. He doesn’t seem to get it. 

“Right! And it’s all thanks to our number one, Captain Yamaguchi!”

“Hinata, _sit down_ , people are staring,” Yamaguchi says. 

While Hinata guffaws heartily, Yachi and Yamaguchi share a look of combined exasperation and amusement before each of them take a hold of Hinata’s elbows and pull him down into his seat. They end up leaving a few minutes later, however, deciding to shop for overnight supplies in the mall nearby, where Hinata can be as loud as he wants. 

*

After saying goodbye to his friends and getting home to work on a winter assignment, Yamaguchi realizes that he’s missing a book for literature. A quick text has him throwing on a knobbly winter hat his mother knitted for him and venturing out into the snow once more towards Tsukishima’s house with his homework. When he knocks at the door, Tsukishima answers wearing a thin henley, some joggers, and his normal deadpan stare. 

“Nice hat,” Tsukishuma says. 

“Thanks. Sorry to bother you,” Yamaguchi says, murmuring a greeting to the hallway as he enters the threshold and toes off his shoes. “I can’t believe I forgot that book at school.” 

“It’s alright. I guess even captains can mess things up sometimes.” 

Yamaguchi just laughs as Tsukishima leads him into the sitting room, where he sees a laptop and some open books on the kotatsu. Tsukishima hands him the required book and nods at the couch. Not wanting to take up too much of Tsukishima’s time, Yamaguchi sits down, flips to the part he needs right away, and starts taking some notes. 

“Everything alright?” Tsukishima says. Yamaguchi looks up to find Tsukishima sitting at the kotatsu and looking back down at his books. 

“Yeah,” Yamaguchi says. “Why?” 

“Nothing. Sorry I couldn’t come for coffee. I didn’t want to.” 

Yamaguchi laughs again. “I figured. That’s okay. You didn’t miss much.” 

“Oh?” 

“We just talked about going to nationals and went shopping for toothbrushes.” 

“Hm. You sure you’re okay?” 

“Yeah!” Yamaguchi cranes his head around to see if Tsukishima’s face is giving an expression away. It isn’t. “Why do you keep asking?” 

“No reason, Captain.” 

Yamaguchi shrugs. “Okay. Almost done.” 

“Take your time.” 

Tsukishima doesn’t say anything more, and once Yamaguchi is done with the book, he insists on walking him back to his house. It’s not too far away, so Yamaguchi waits while Tsukishima throws on a winter coat and a pair of sneakers, calling to his mother that he’ll be back in a bit. 

The sky turns dark purple as they walk along the sidewalk under the streetlamps, snow crunching under their heels. It’s a familiar path they walk, past the house that always puts out reindeer in the winter, through their choice childhood playground. The playdome shaped like a large frog and the old, rusted swing set are both covered in flecks of white. Yamaguchi sighs, thinking wistfully of past days again, but his thoughts are interrupted when Tsukishima clicks his tongue in irritation. 

“Are _you_ okay?” Yamaguchi says, laughing as he turns Tsukishima’s earlier questioning back on him and stops in front of the fence at the edge of the yard. “What’s wrong?”

Tsukishima just shrugs. “You,” he says quietly. 

“Me?” Yamaguchi says, taken aback at the simple honesty. “What’d I do?” 

“Nothing.” Tsukishima clicks his tongue again. “Just. Come here.” 

“What?” 

Very suddenly, Yamaguchi finds himself being dragged by the elbow towards the snow-covered swings. They squeak slightly as a light breeze blows through the playground, and Tsukishima stands in front of a swing and looks back at Yamaguchi in a huff. 

“Tsukki, what are you—” 

Yamaguchi stops abruptly, flabbergasted when Tsukishima wipes the snow off the swing, turns around, and pushes him to sit. He is equally confused as Tsukishima moves behind him, grasping at the chain with both hands and causing Yamaguchi to sway slightly with his seat. 

“Tsukki—”

“I’m going to push you for exactly five minutes,” Tsukishima says brusquely. “If I see someone coming up the sidewalk, I will leave you and hide in a bush.” 

“What?” Yamaguchi says, alarmed. 

“When we’re done, you’re gonna go home and stop worrying about things you can’t change.” 

At this, Yamaguchi can only turn his head back and stare at his friend, mouth agape. It is scary how often it felt like Tsukishima could read his mind. And Yamaguchi can’t deny his claim.

He looks back at his friend in wonder, noting the taut press of his lips, the pink flush dusting his cheeks, the way his eyes dart around beneath his glasses. Yamaguchi understands that this is not up for negotiation. He just nods and looks ahead, letting Tsukishima pull the swing back by the chain, letting himself be held in the air by this weighty gesture, unsure of when the drop will come. 

Then, Tsukishima releases him. 

Yamaguchi laughs out loud, moving quickly through the cold air as it whistles in his ears. He pauses at the top, weightless for a brief, shining moment, before gravity brings him back down in a graceful brandish. 

As he gains speed with each of Tsukishima’s firm pushes, Yamaguchi feels his worries melt away. He is childish and giddy, feels young and uninhibited. And he realizes; time won’t stop for them. He’ll go to his last Nationals tournament with Tsukki and Yachi and Hinata and Kageyama. He’ll take his college entrance exams. They’ll graduate soon afterwards. Things will change quickly and surely. But there are also simple things that cannot be taken away; friendship, hard work, coffee, swing sets. 

With the feeling of Tsukishima’s reassuring palm on his back pushing him onwards, Yamaguchi lifts the thoughts up to the darkening, star-smattered sky, each small thing an offering, a promise to enjoy what’s left of his youthful days. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, leave a comment or come say hi on Twitter :) [@_froochies](https://twitter.com/_froochies)
> 
> Want to read more? Head on over to my [works page](https://archiveofourown.org/users/darling_dontworry/works).


End file.
